The figures come amid a warning from the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies that an Irish Government plan to remove the PAYE and earned income tax credits on higher levels of income would create an effective marginal tax rate of 64.1 per cent on income between €100,000 and €120,000, far in excess of the current top rate of 52 per cent.

The institute was responding to the recent publication of the department’s Tax Strategy Group papers, which included details of a plan to taper the PAYE credit allowance.

“Higher marginal rates reduce economic efficiency by weakening the incentive for individuals to increase their earnings,” the institute warned.